New York cheesecake

• 6 tbsp infused butter

  Set your infusion strength above and this splits into infused and plain butter to hit whatever dose you want.

• 1½ cupsgraham cracker crumbs
• 2 tbspgranulated sugar
• ¼ tspfine salt
• 2 lbfull-fat cream cheese — room temperature, four 8 oz blocks
• 1½ cupsgranulated sugar
• 5large eggs — room temperature
• ½ cupsour cream
• 2 tspvanilla extract
• 1 tbsplemon juice

Method

1. 01

   Heat the oven to 325 °F. Wrap the outside of a 9-inch springform in two layers of heavy aluminum foil, all the way up the sides, so the water bath cannot get in.

   325 °F

2. 02

   Stir the melted infused butter into the graham crumbs, sugar and salt, then press the mixture into the base of the pan. Press it to one even thickness across the whole bottom — thin patches and thick patches are not a cosmetic problem here, they are two different doses on the same plate.

3. 03

   Bake the crust for ten minutes, then set it aside to cool while you mix the filling.

   325 °F · 10 min

4. 04

   Beat the cream cheese alone until completely smooth before anything else joins it. Cold cream cheese leaves lumps you can only beat out by whipping in air, and whipped-in air is what cracks the top later.

   4 min

5. 05

   Add the sugar and beat on low until incorporated, then the sour cream, vanilla and lemon juice.

6. 06

   Add the eggs one at a time on the lowest speed, stopping the moment each one disappears. Scrape the bowl after every addition.

7. 07

   Pour the filling over the cooled crust and set the pan in a roasting dish. Pour boiling water into the dish to come halfway up the springform, then bake until the outer two inches are set and the center still moves as one soft mass when you nudge the pan.

   325 °F · 80 min

8. 08

   Turn the oven off, prop the door open with a wooden spoon and leave the cheesecake inside for an hour. A sudden drop in temperature is what makes the surface split.

   60 min

9. 09

   Chill uncovered for at least eight hours, ideally overnight.

   480 min

10. 10

    Before cutting, mark twelve equal wedges on the surface with the back of a knife and work to those marks. A cheesecake cut by eye hands somebody a sliver and somebody else a double — and a double slice is a double dose. Wipe the blade in hot water between cuts.